MBA's Jaron Leasure breaks TSSAA record in capturing DII-AA state golf title
Cecil JoyceMANCHESTER — MBA's Jaron Leasure was visibly upset after two-putting on the 18th hole of the second day of the TSSAA Division II-AA boys state golf tournament.
His biggest concern at the time was the team championship. He didn't have to worry about capturing his second state individual title. He won that by nine strokes and set the TSSAA record for a state tournament round with a 10-under 62.
The previous record was 63, held by Baylor's Seth Brandon (2003) and Richard Spangler (1995).
"The team rallied (on the back nine)," said Leasure, whose two-round total of 12-under 132 was the third-lowest score in state tournament history. He entered the second day two strokes behind teammate Bradford Cummins. "I didn't want to let this one slide. We definitely fought until the end. We gave it everything we had."
Ensworth captured its first boys team title by two strokes over the Big Red.
"It has been a long time coming," said Ensworth coach Virgil Herring. "We have a deep team full of spectacular players. We had four boys finish in the top 10. Very consistent.
"MBA put up one super fight with a career round by Jaron, which was amazing. That made it interesting for us. We never lost the lead, which says a lot for our guys."
Leasure, who will play golf at Virginia, also won the individual state title as a freshman in 2016.
"It's kind of cool to bookend (titles) in my freshman and senior years," Leasure said. "It was a lot of fun. WillowBrook is in solid shape for the heat we've had and the dryness we've had."
Rachel Heck a four-time state champ
St. Agnes senior Rachel Heck, a Stanford commitment, didn't break her own single-round (64) or tournament (134) records Tuesday. But she captured her fourth consecutive DII-AA girls individual title, which did tie a state record.
With the success she's had at WillowBrook (including a second-place finish as an eighth grader in 2015), Heck was sad to walk off the course.
"I have so many memories of this place," said Heck, who fired a 69-67-136 to win by eight strokes over Knox Catholic's Kennedy Noe. "It was hard to leave. On the last hole, I almost cried."
Heck finished second to her sister, Abby (a two-time champion) prior to winning four state titles in a row. Younger sister Anna finished fourth this season as the two led St. Agnes to its sixth consecutive team tile.
"It's been really cool," Rachel Heck said. "I started playing with (Abby) and she was a role model I looked up to. Now I get to be a leader for (Anna). We're all close, but super competitive. We want each other to play well, but we want to play a little better."
FRA girls take DII-A title
Franklin Road Academy's Tzunami Polito captured her first DII-A state title, firing a 75-73-148 to beat teammate Emily Wilson and Evangelical Christian's Margaret Porter by three strokes.
"It was a grind," said Polito, who helped her squad capture the team title. "We really pulled it together and proved how strong we are as a team, which was really important in this tournament."
Clarksville Academy's Patton Samuels also earned his first title, winning DII-A boys with a 67-69-136. He finished two strokes ahead of BGA's Will Rieck.
"It was a little bit (of pressure), but not a lot," said Samuels, who held a two-stroke lead over Rieck after the first round and never trailed. "It's golf. Anything can happen. I just stay humble and confident in my game and go out and do what I do best."
DII-A girls
Top team scores: FRA 150-149-299; Northpoint 154-160-314; CAK 162-171-333.
Top individuals: Tzunami Polito (FRA) 75-73-148; Emily Wilson (FRA) 75-76-151; Margaret Porter (ECS) 70-81-151; Ella Cress, Northpoint 76-76-152.
DII-A boys
Top team scores: CAK 289-295-584; Trinity Christian 301-308-609; FRA 323-306-629; BGA 309-320-629.
Top individuals: Patton Samuels (Clarksville Acad.) 67-69-136; Will Rieck (BGA) 69-69-138; Kaleb Wilson (CAK) 71-68-139; Reece Britt (Knox Webb) 71-71-142.
DII-AA girls
Top team scores: St. Agnes 140-146-286; Baylor 155-154-309; Ensworth 159-156-315.
Top individuals: Rachel Heck (St. Agnes) 69-67-136; Kennedy Noe (Knox Catholic) 72-72-144; Kyndall Shamblin (Baylor) 74-74-148; Anna Heck (St. Agnes) 71-79-150.
DII-AA boys
Top team scores: Ensworth 288-290-578; MBA 294-286-580; McCallie 305-294-599; Baylor 309-290-599.
Top individuals: Jaron Leasure (MBA) 70-62-132; Jonathan Xoinis (Chatt. Christian) 71-70-141; Bradford Cummins (MBA) 68-74-142; Sheldon McKnight (Baylor) 72-70-142.
Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.
